94 barrelli creel - a lesson in provenance

[newsguy]

well, in an earlier thread on this wonderful cab from gallo, drew and I seemed to think this bottling was peaking, and WW said he was figuring these babies would stay on their peak plateau for 5-7 years with good storage. the key is all about provenance, WW said.

well, i found out what a difference provenance can make just the other night. the first bottle i had of this fine wine a month ago was definitely at the top of its game and the tannins were gone. so i'd figure i'd pop a bottle every month or so until my supply was out (since i don't have good storage yet). second bottle was in the exact same state as the first: perfect, and perfectly ready. well, i popped bottle number 3 with a friend on bachelor's night (our wives both out of town) to go with a 2-inch thick porterhouse and baked potatoes. imagine my surprise when, after letting the wine breathe for an hour or so, i took the first sip. ah, that great barrelli creek taste, but then it was shut down within 10 seconds by a curtain of tannins.

WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? i asked out loud. i was stunned. this bottle seemed to clearly be at least 2-3 years shy of peaking. how could it be so different from the first two bottles? the only thing i can come up with: provenance. i found these four bottles on the shelves of a local retailer back in february. at this point, we were in the middle of the 96s on this wine, so it seemed obvious that the retailer and/or wholesaler found some 94s somewhere and put them out on the shelves. the first two bottles i had must have spent some time in warmer temperatures, while the third one was prolly at 55 or cooler the entire time. i was shaking my head with regret while drinking it. "Baby killer," i muttered to myself.

so, that's my hands-on lesson in provenance.

and now that my wife has started vet school, my reward to myself is getting some long-term storage. i'm going out next week to rent a 6-case wine locker. as bruce springsteen once wrote, "From small things, mamma, big things one day come." (That's right folks, bruce wrote that song and he let dave edmunds record it).

have a good weekend all.

p.s. just to play it safe, i'll be letting my final bottle of 94 barrelli creek sit in storage for a few years. in fact, my wife will be a D.V.M. in four years. maybe it would be a perfect bottle to go with her graduation dinner [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]


[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 05-18-2001).]

[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 05-18-2001).]